Congress aims to end illegal killings of Blacks

WASHINGTON (Rooters agency) – A proposed bipartisan bill to end illegal killing of Black people in the streets by police is gaining wide support in both houses of Congress. When the legislative details are finalized, the bill seems assured of overwhelming support.

Tentatively titled Make Our Streets Safe Before America Collapses from Killing (MOSSBACK), the new law would clearly specify that there is nothing illegal about police firing on any Black person foolhardy enough to venture onto the streets. If shooting down Black people in the streets becomes officially legal, there will be no reason for anyone to demonstrate or riot because the police shooters are not put on trial.

The bill’s sponsors say, however, that police would not be given complete carte blanche to open fire with any and every available weapon. They would be required to take “all reasonable care” to ensure that businesses were not damaged by ricocheting bullets or other forms of collateral damage.

MOSSBACK is also known, informally, as “the prosecutor’s prayer.” As an experienced prosecutor, who asked not to be named, explained: “It’s not always easy to protect our police from frivolous prosecutions. Not recommending any specific charge usually works, but it can be dangerous; occasionally, jurors will go for the most serious charge, and then you have to find witnesses who say they didn’t see that happen – if only because they were looking the other way.”

Grand juries aren’t always as predictable as they used to be, this prosecutor continued. “Sometimes members of a grand jury can be racially prejudiced: I’ve known cases of white jurors who think that Black people are just as good as they are – or almost, anyway.

“This new law will mean we can stop wasting grand jurors’ time and energy for weeks on end with cases that have no chance of going anywhere and that only get those people’s hopes up to no purpose.”

One of the bill’s sponsors, asked whether there was concern about a possible presidential veto of the bill, replied, “The President is a reasonable man. He surely also wants to end illegal killings. But anyway, it only takes a two-thirds vote to override a veto; that would be easy.”